The Week That Was: MMA News and Notes

Written By: Joe Bacanovic


UFC 97 could be in serious jeopardy. Due to recent events in Quebec at smaller MMA show, the Quebec Athletic commission is reconsidering their views on MMA in the province. Some rule changes that could take place include requiring cages to be smaller, that is smaller than the octagon the UFC uses. Other potential rule changes include making knee and elbow strikes illegal, and when a fighter is knocked down the referee must halt the bout to make sure the fighter is okay. The commissions representatives informed various media outlets that if the UFC wants to hold UFC 97 in Montreal, they must adhere to the rules, though UFC's Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner remains hopeful that the UFC's discussions with the commission will keep UFC 97 in Montreal. This is a really weird situation, due to tickets being all but gone for the event. If 97 is cancelled, the UFC will be forced to find a new venue really quickly, and refund a ton of people. If this does happen, may I suggest Calgary?

In the wake of UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan testing positive for multiple pain killers, the Nevada State Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer informed Fighters Only Magazine that Parisyan's win over Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 94 may be ruled a no contest. Parisyan claims he informed the commission about his use of pain killers, to which he says the commission reacted as if it wouldn't be a problem as long as he had a prescription. Kizer is said to have stated that even if Parisyan has a prescription for the drugs, that fact is unlikely to lessen the punishment he receives. Parisyan was scheduled to fight Josh Koscheck at UFC 98, if Koscheck gets by Paulo Thiago at UFC 95, but these plans could all be scrapped if a suspension is handed down.

Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah has revealed to MMA Junkie that he is planning to cut the weight and move to the welterweight division. Sadollah has not fought since he defeated C.B. Dollaway in June, a win which awarded him champion of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. The 28-year-old was forced to withdraw from two bouts due to injury, once in November, then a dislocated clavicle caused him to drop out a few weeks before UFC Fight Night 17, both times his opponent was scheduled to be Nick Catone.

The UFC has recently shown they are not recession proof. Five ounces is also reporting that UFC fighters Rich Clementi and Luigi Fioravanti have been cut from the UFC after their losses at UFC Fight Night 17. Later in the week they also announced that they have released middleweight Derek Downey, heavyweight Eddie Sanchez, and light heavyweight Christian Wellisch. The UFC has been trimming it’s roster over the pas few months, and more roster cuts seem to be on the way.